Suspended Panther Valley School District Superintendent Raymond E. Aucker liked to show off the Navy SEAL emblem he wore on his veteran's cap.

As commander of the Coaldale American Legion Post, Aucker routinely introduced himself as a SEAL and often spoke of his experiences in the elite Sea, Air and Land fighting unit.

He was lying, the Navy says.

Aucker, 45, whose ramrod posture, thick white hair and piercing blue eyes bespeak military discipline, served in the Navy but was not a SEAL, said Lt. Cmdr. W. Jeffrey Alderson of the Navy Special Warfare Command in San Diego.

Aucker was in the Navy 1971-75 and says he served one tour of duty in Vietnam. He also served in the Army Reserve from 1975 through 1994.

His deception began to unravel at Thanksgiving when he bragged of his SEAL exploits to an Air Force veteran whose work brings him into contact with members of the corps.

Aucker, who is suspended without pay for neglecting his duties as superintendent, declined comment on the SEAL matter.

School Board President Ron Slivka was stunned that Aucker lied.

"I didn't think anyone would lie about being a Navy SEAL. I have the utmost respect for Navy SEALs and how they protect our country," Slivka said. "It's sad. I think it's just sad."

The revelation is the latest in a series of troubles for Aucker. In 1996, school officials discovered his doctoral degree was from a non-accredited California company.

In August, the board suspended Aucker without pay for failing to do his $69,000-a-year job. He didn't show up at meetings, failed to work the hours he promised and abused his sick day benefits, school officials said.

American Legion officer Tom Sopko was dismayed to learn about Aucker's lie.

Sopko, the post's previous commander, said Aucker was nominated to the office in May, "when we didn't know as much about him as we do now."

Sopko expects the matter to come up when the Legion meets Jan. 19.

"Someone's going to want answers at that meeting," he said. "If he decides he wants to step down as commander, we'd go along with it, I'm sure."

When the former airman, Ty Weaver, stopped in at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Coaldale over the Thanksgiving holidays, he expected to have a drink or two and while away some time playing pool and chatting with fellow vets.

Instead he set off a chain of events that exposed the post service officer as an impostor.

Weaver, a Tamaqua native living in Reston, Va., works for Heckler and Koch, a company that sells weapons and training services to the military and law enforcement agencies.

Every SEAL goes through training provided by the company, he said.

However, Aucker did not recognize the name of the company, nor did he recognize the name of Roy Boehm, who in 1962 became the first Navy SEAL.

"He was talking all this stuff, and it didn't sound right to me," Weaver said.

Weaver contacted a retired SEAL, Larry Bailey, also of Virginia, who called the Navy Special Warfare Archives.

The archives are administered by a small band of retired SEALs who keep a database, released by the Navy, of every man who graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALs training. Only graduates of BUD/S become SEALs.

The records did not include Aucker's name.

"It disgusted me," Weaver said of his discovery. "Think of the sacrifices those men sitting in those clubs have made. They don't brag. And here's this guy bragging he was a Navy SEAL. He's just a fraud, a disgrace to the men who have served."

Aucker's deception immediately earned the wrath of the SEALs, some of whose members now feature him on their "Wannabe" Web sites.

One site, created by retired SEAL Darryl Young of Montana, lists Aucker as "Phony of the Month."

The site, www.montana.com/seal1/phonym.htm, compares wannabes, those who falsely claim SEAL status, to fly larva and various body orifices.

"They are walking on the bodies of our fallen comrades," Young said. "They don't even care that these real SEALs died horrible deaths in combat."

About 200 SEALs served during the Vietnam War. The members of the Archives since 1996 have exposed at least 2,000 frauds, Young said.

Falsely claiming SEAL status carries no penalty, said Alderson.

"From the Navy standpoint, no, we don't go out and prosecute these guys," he said.

Aucker, apparently confident his secret would be safe, told anyone who would listen that he was a SEAL, including reporters and Panther Valley school directors.

"Over the two years I've known him, he's mentioned it to me several times," said School Director Angelo Santore.

Slivka said Aucker "talked at length about being a Navy SEAL and how tough it was."

In 1993, he told a reporter for the Gazette newspaper in Armagh, Indiana County, that he was a Navy SEAL.

In November 1997, he told a reporter for the Pottsville Republican newspaper he served in the "U.S. Navy Special Forces."

Last November, he told The Morning Call he planned to fight his ouster from the Panther Valley School District.

"I'm taking no prisoners. That's the Navy SEAL in me," he said.

Aucker also bragged to other military veterans.

"He mentioned it at parades and gatherings. He's told many people he's been a SEAL," Sopko said.

Sopko was baffled as to why Aucker would falsely claim SEAL status.

"It wouldn't have mattered to us. He is a veteran and entitled to hold office in the Legion. To me, a vet is a vet. I don't care if he was a private or a general," Sopko said.

While those who know him are dismayed and baffled by Aucker's duplicity, one mental health professional suggested a reason.

Allentown psychologist Dr. Vera Hornstein said people who elevate their status may not like themselves very much.

"I would imagine it would stem from having an inadequate sense of self, a need to enhance his self-image and self-worth," she said. "Apparently these people need to project something they are not."